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Manchester United Go Two Down. Rooney Might Make It Three

The statue of Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson stands in front of the stadium at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England on May 8, 2013 on the day that current manager Alex Ferguson announced his resignation. (Image credit: AFP/Getty Images via @daylife)

Behind the scenes at top soccer club Manchester United, all is not well. The story of the week is the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, a manager whose presence and force of will has made the difference between winning and losing at one of the world’s richest clubs. But he is not the only one stepping down – so too is CEO David Gill.

And it emerged in the discussion following Ferguson’s retirement announcement that star striker Wayne Rooney has also asked to leave.

So the club are losing their CEO and an irreplaceable manager. They have brought in David Moyes of Everton, Liverpool’s second club, to plug the managerial gap.

The problem is that Moyes has won very little in his managerial career and has spent next to no time in senior European competition, the place where a club’s global reputation is established and maintained.

Players at Manchester United are said to be happy with the appointment because Moyes will respect the cub’s traditions. Relying on tradition might not be such a great move. When Gill announced his retirement he said it was to allow MU to refresh itself.

United had available a coach like Jose Mourinho, a proven winner at the highest level, and with an ego as large as Ferguson’s. They have opted instead for one whose experience is running a club that could not break into the big time, with a manager who shares Ferguson’s work ethic but who is unproven. United, in future, will have to tempt great players to come and play for Moyes.

It’s a curious choice and it reflects the insularity of Manchester United, a team that has won everything, has global sponsorship deals but is still a provincial team.

Under Ferguson they won the benchmark major European trophy twice but have never looked like a dominant side in Europe – they were always beatable. In England opposition teams feared them, in Europe not so. That’s a deficit Ferguson always wanted to make good on.

The Man United share price did not suffer unduly this week because the succession from Ferguson to Moyes was fast and slick, just as it was when Gill announced his retirement. But watchers of the club’s finances point out that all is not well with the business.

The valuation issue is basic: revenues were only £320m last year and half that sum was paid straight out as salaries. At the operating level, profits were only £44.9m. That entire sum was then consumed by finance costs of £49.5m, leading to a pre-tax loss of £4.7m. Naturally, there was no dividend.

As a business Manchester United have tended to be fast followers rather than innovators, quick to adopt the innovations of others, particularly of the leading Italian sides. In Ferguson’s early years his teams lacked the lifestyle characteristics of great athletes and their training facilities were primitive.

Some of the concerns that will inevitably grow through the summer, though, could have been addressed by a high profile managerial appointment. It hasn’t happened. United believe they can sustain Ferguson’s success without him – but not quite. Rumor has it this week that Gill was out in Madrid looking to tempt the world’s second great player, Ronaldo, back to Manchester. They’d have done better to appoint his manager, Jose Mourinho.

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What an absolute garbage article! Manchester United is one of the top sports institutions on the planet. They absolutely know what they are doing. In a coach they are going for longevity not ego. If you read the majority of professional comments in England you would see unanimous support for David Moyes! Also if you knew what you are talking about you would see through decades of history that NO ONE player is bigger than the club. Many superstars have come and gone but the RED DEVILS have always shone through. It’s an insult to our intelligence to call Manchester United a provincial team!

The first few years with Sir Alex we won nothing and was a rocky period and look what he went on to accomplish! We are sailing into the unknown no matter who the next manager would be. Of coarse the speculation would be huge when we have had the same coach for 27 years. Bottom line is it’s about Manchester United not ANY individual, player or manager.

Obviously you are not from Manchester, United is a Manchester team, City also. I was born and raised in Manchester and I am proud of both the teams I live in Southern California and when anyone ask me who I support I say both when I was young very young I would go to Maine road one week to see City and the next to see United so figure that one out, yes I am in my 70s, ps I don’t believe Moyes is up for the job.

I totally agree, to me it is not about being good it is about being the best, and I mean in the world and United are not though I wish they were I will take City or United I was watching United when they won the cup in 1948 they were just as good then as they are now or ever been, which is good but I want to see them as the best in the world they will not achieve that with Moyes.

Long time Manchester United fans know that Mourinho is just wrong for the club. Yes he may go out and buy a team that will win for a year or two, but then what? He will walk away leaving an ageing team that will decline!

Moyes has kept Everton in the top 7 for years without access to the Worlds best. Imagine what he can do with the resources at Manchester United.

He understands the English game and the importance of longevity.

As a long time fan, I applaud Manchester United for making the right choice and not just going for the obvious to get a couple of trophies. I understand why Chelsea did, they didn’t have many trophies or the possibility of European football. Let Chelsea have him back or even better Manchester City have him. Short term success, long term atrophy!

This is sad, sad news. I’m a committed ManU fan, but my commitment started to weaken when Ronaldo left for Real Madrid. Now Rooney!!! My recommended solution: Re-think the situation: Entice Jose Marinho to make the move to United and bring Ronaldo with him. Then, ask Rooney to stay. He just might say yes!! Let’s not see ManU go down!

If you only watch football from a business perspective, any change will make you see negatives. But if you understand the English football, then you know Moyes is the best choice to take United higher. His lack of European football experience was down to the small pocket at Everton. Sir Alex had no European experience, he built that overtime. With the resources as big as what United provides a manager, Moyes will do just fine.

We’ll see – I don’t think football clubs are like ships that keep sailing on under a new skipper. I’m a United fan and would have preferred a manager with a proven track record of winning at the top of the game.

Show’s how little you know about Alex Ferguson – for the seven seasons Fergie was manager of Scotland’s Aberdeen FC, they played in 1 of 3 European competitions every year, and they won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup in 1983 (they beat Real Madrid in the CWC Final).

When Man U hired him in 1986, they knew they were getting a true managerial mastermind.

Couple of problems here. First, there’s a big assumption here that Mourinho would have come to United if asked. Mourinho loves to spend money, but United has a much smaller budget for player salaries than Real Madrid, Mourinho’s current employer, or Chelsea, his rumored destination.

Second, Mourinho is a prima donna, a type that doesn’t go down well at ManU. Third, the article omits the crucial fact that Moyes is Ferguson’s choice, and Sir Alex is certainly the most qualified man imaginable to choose United’s next manager.

And fourth, Rooney’s departure has been rumored for months, long before there was any indication of Ferguson’s retirement.

Before his retirement the rumor was he would sell Rooney – now the rumor is Rooney has asked to go – and will he be able to work with Moyes if he stays? They don’t get on. As for the rest of your comment Mourinho has let it be known he wants to stay at a club and build a legacy. United need someone like that – someone Ferguson’s equal.

As an Arsenal fan, nothing pleases me more to see a potential down period for ManU following Fergie’s retirement. However, David Moyes is a wonderful manager. You fail to mention why Moyes has barely broke into the ‘top 4′, which is his severely limited budget.

All Moyes has done, qualifying for the Champs league, multiple top 6 finishes is done on a fraction of what the bigger clubs splash out on players, not to mention his ability to attract premier league quality players with an unfashionable team.

Moyes had a chance to prove himself at Everton, Everton are mediocre at best. big mistake for United, Even Ferguson was lacking when it came to Euro football, sure he was good with English kick and run stuff, but just like Chelsea they don’t look like they have that star quality against the best in Europe, look at Chelse in last years final they won but it was a joke and United have been the same.